My teacher once told me that all macros are sharp. This is an exception.

Jul 15, 2013

OskarOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 16, 2012Location: AustraliaPosts: 0

Review Date: Jul 31, 2012

Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 4

Pros:

Have not found any yet. Not a great macro as you have to get to close and cover subject with your own shadow
Ring flash still wont save it because of the same problem

Cons:

I swapped it for an old lens which was much better
Maybe this could be a good portrait lens
Or an e bay item. Mind you I do use a hassleblad macro
Which is unbeatable and $7000 against this lens which sells for $500

Jul 31, 2012

yahyatahirOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 19, 2010Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Jul 2, 2010

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $260.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp, Sharp, Did I say Sharp!!! Great for Macro & PORTRAITS as well!!!!

Cons:

Sometimes I get glare

One of my favorite lenses. I use it most of time for taking portraits and macro. Purchased this lens for the sole purpose of MACRO. But interestingly I am using it more for Portraits.
Extremely sharp shows all blemishes - can be a negative factor when using for portrait.
Great in low light with the constant 2.8.
Make sure to get a 62mm filter to keep dust from getting in the deep barrel.

Jul 2, 2010

PJ FishOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 24, 2006Location: DenmarkPosts: 18

Review Date: Dec 20, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharp sharp sharp all over,good in all areas: build, ,colour,contrast and so on ...i love this jewel.Its simply my working tool for macro shots and also portraits and alike.

Cons:

a little heavy,AF speed is slow

This Nikon is one of my favorites, it shines even today compared to new and old designs,i think its a must have and i enjoy the results as much as my customers,my sample is horryfying sharp so sometimes you have to be carefull to reveal everything in order not to scare customers away( you know scars on faces and so on..)

its a true state of the art product from Nikon,i like it so much.

Dec 20, 2009

phiggysOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 7, 2004Location: United KingdomPosts: 25

Review Date: Aug 28, 2008

Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated

Pros:

Build and image quality,manual focus feels really good, 62mm filters

Cons:

Slow A.F. but its not needed for macro work. Can be to sharp if used for portraits but the focal length on DX format is perfect @ 90mm

Why cant all AF lenses work and feel as good as this one does when switched to manual?
"The old 105mm micro is the same."
I think this is an excellent lens mine is the D version and I think it's even sharper than the 105mm.
For close up and copying its faultless gives a reasonable working distance from subject works well on digital slrs as well.

Aug 28, 2008

phiggysOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 7, 2004Location: United KingdomPosts: 25

Review Date: Aug 28, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Build and image quality,manual focus feels really good, 62mm filters

Cons:

Slow A.F. but its not needed for macro work. Can be to sharp if used for portraits but the focal length on DX format is perfect @ 90mm

Why cant all A.F. lenses work and feel as good as this one does when switched to manual ? "The old 105mm micro feels the same."
I think this is an excellent lens mine is the D but this has now been replaced with the 60mm A.F.S. version by Nikon.
For close up and copying its faultless gives a reasonable working distance from subject works well on digital slrs as well.

Aug 28, 2008

sankeycottageOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 29, 2008Location: United KingdomPosts: 0

Review Date: Jul 2, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $7,000.00
| Rating: 8

Pros:

Feels and looks good, great sharp images, fast enough at f1.8 under most conditions.

Cons:

Can hunt just a little under low light, lacks some contrast f1.8 - f4.

This lens looks good and feels the part from first use. The f1.8 is better value than the f1.4 which seems very overpriced. Superb portrait lens with incredible bokeh! It really comes into it's own with crop on a Nikon DSLR camera which uses the "sweetspot" of the lens and is effectively a focal length of 127mm. Highly recommended.

Jul 2, 2008

Richard H. KraOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 26, 2007Location: United StatesPosts: 1

Review Date: Jul 4, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $221.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Incredible Macro ability.

Cons:

None apparent at this time

I have need for an extremely sharp Macro lens. This lens suits all my total needs! Fantastic detail & Good Contrast. It is presently being utilized 100% on my Nikon D/40. You cannot go wrong with this lens for close up work. Also, great for portraits!

Jul 4, 2007

jerry_kphlOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 3, 2007Location: PolandPosts: 0

Review Date: Feb 3, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8

Pros:

Incredible sharp! Nice focal lenght - 100 mm on digital

Cons:

Low focus speed. High focus noise.

I found this lense in my office basement. It was on shelf with "useless" old foto stuff. My version seems to have more than 10 years! and its working fine on digital. I dont understand why someone throw this to trash? Its superb sharp. It has very low chromatic aberration (less than mine 105VR). On digital body has ideal focal lenght for macro - about 100 mm. I love it, its my favorite lense. I think Nikon shoud make an SWM & VR version. Bad things: for 1:1, object is very close to lense - forget about bild-in flash (object is in a shadow), focus is slow and make big noise - live objects escape before it focuses.

Feb 3, 2007

Drax240zOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 28, 2005Location: CanadaPosts: 76

Review Date: Jan 9, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $355.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Unbelievably sharp, well built, nice feel.

Cons:

Close working range for 1:1 doesn't bode well if shooting dangerous subjects. AF a little slow in low light.

I've had this lens for 3 weeks now, and it has barely left my camera. Awesome portrait lens with a nice range on a digital body, the only downside is that it might be too sharp! You won't find many lenses sharper than this in close range shooting. The macro capabilities are excellent, providing your working range isn't so small that you block available light. Focusing at 1:1 puts the end of the lens ~4" from the subject, so lighting can be a little tricky. On camera flashes need not apply...

I would buy this lens again in a second, and happily pay more for the results I am getting. It is by far my new standard for measuring sharpness.

For the price and capabilities, this is a must have as far as I am concerned, especially if you are only dabbling in macro photography. If you are seriously into macro I'd probably suggest a longer working range, ie: 105mm or 150mm.

Out of focus highlights can appear harsh and angular. Quite big and heavy for a 60mm lens. Antiquated and hard to use MF/AF switch. Slow AF.

My sample is very sharp, has high contrast, and a flat field, throughout most of the aperture range. I see slight softening at F16, and even more at F22 but the latter is useable at a push. I have not noticed CA, distortion, flair or ghosting. The only aspect I don't like are the often rather harsh out of focus highlights so I try to avoid them. I find that this is a good lens for copying work, or where space is at a premium, but it has very little working distance and so it is not ideal for wary subjects such as active insects. The lens is quite big and heavy due to the mechanics of allowing enough extension to reach 1:1 so I do not recommend it unless you want the superb micro capabilities.

Jul 3, 2006

onderOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 2, 2005Location: TurkeyPosts: 50

Review Date: Mar 9, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $369.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Very Sharp and get max from your camera

Cons:

Getting oriented to her depth of field needs so much time. Not easy to use the maximum benefits.

This is my first lense for macro world. Usually I am using it with manual focusing. You can use it also for your everyday lense but be carefull about the depth of field. After several shooting try you can used to be how the maximum benefits/potentials that this lense has.

A great lens for short money. Very sharp. Nice focal length for portraits on DX sensors. Not the tank like build of higher end Nikkors, but good for the price. The color is good, but does not have the punch of the Nikkor 85mm PC, which will only do 1:2. The lens is small enough, and light enough to pretty much take anywhere. A nice compliment to any bag.

This is a legendary lens. I really can't say much about its optical quality that hasn't been said, except that there is a little bit of light fall-off at its maxumum aperture, especially when focusing closer than about 1:5. Otherwise, it's just spectacular. The Micro-Nikkor family arguably comprises the sharpest lenses ever made for 35mm photography.

Like most AF lenses, its focus throw is very short: about 360 degrees. People who want to do manual-focus macro would be well-advised to buy... a manual-focus macro!

Mounting a UV filter on this lens is a depressing experience, because you lose some of the advantages of the deeply-recessed front element. Nikon's (now hard-to-find) HN-22 lens shade is quite shallow and only helps a little. Thus, this is one of the few lenses that deserves a multicoated UV filter.

Feb 4, 2006

EV CompOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Oct 23, 2005Location: CanadaPosts: 23

Review Date: Oct 23, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Incredibly sharp, detailed well saturated images produced

Cons:

A little slow to focus in AF

I had been wanting to add Macro capabilities to my repetoire of compositions for some time now. What I hadn't bargained for was a deadly sharp 90mm F2.8 equivalent portrait lens, when used on my digital body. I've been using it for only a couple of weeks with only extremely positive results, thus far. I haven't even considered shooting macro yet. It's a keeper.

Oct 23, 2005

drewgoldenOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Oct 22, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Oct 22, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $399.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Great for portrait work and superior close-up work.

Cons:

Tad heavy for a prime, but well worth the weight when you see the results (the Micro stuff makes it heavy I am guessing.)

This was my first prime and I purchased it mainly to do close up macro shots of flowers and bees. I have a D70 and only the kit lens (18-70mm f/3.5-4.5) and wanted a good macro lens and picked this one, and was pleased the minute I started working with it.

I used it for several months for just flower shots. Then two weeks ago I had it on my camera when we went to the park with the kids and started using it for 'normal' shots of the kids. I was *floored* by the results. This is a superior lens to the kit lens at 60mm!

Given it's dual role, I am very very pleased with this lens and can recommend it highly to anyone looking for a good starting point in prime lenses and an interest in macro photography. Just get it and you will see!

(One note, you do have to get rather close to your work in macro mode - ie. inches from the bees. They usually don't sting, so go ahead and try it!)